The automotive industry is increasing the use of underbody shielding on vehicles for many reasons, including for improving the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle, providing added protection of exposed components of the vehicle, improving noise performance, and other reasons. One or several shield panels are fastened in place as an outer surface or cover over the irregular surfaces provided by exposed individual components. On some vehicles, only selected components are provided with shielding, and on other vehicles a substantial portion of the underbody is shielded; however, the general tendency is toward the use of more complete shielding of the underbody.
To fasten the panels of underbody shielding in place, it is known to use costly multiple component assembly methods, including the use of fasteners such as nuts and bolts. These attachment methods have achieved only moderate acceptance due to cost and assembly inefficiencies. Using standard fasteners such as nuts and bolts is costly both for manufacturing of the fastener, and for the subsequent installation and use of the fastener when securing the underbody shielding in place. Connecting multi-component fasteners with tools can be time consuming and difficult. Handling the individual pieces can be slow and prone to mishandling and subsequent delay when retrieving the mishandled part or acquiring a replacement part. Since the underbody shielding may have to be removed for servicing and repairing the vehicle, the time required to disconnect the fasteners to remove the shielding and to then reconnect the fasteners to reinstall the shielding is an important consideration not only for initial vehicle assembly, but throughout the life of the vehicle. Multi-component fasteners can be mishandled or lost during disassembly and reassembly while servicing or repairing the automobile,
Simple, one-piece fasteners provide advantages when used for attaching underbody shielding on automobiles, and can have use in other applications in the automotive industry, as well as in other industries for other uses and purposes.